Cannabis Regulatory Commission

The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission voted 4-1 on Friday to approve Harmony’s expansion into recreational sales in Secaucus. The store opened as a medical marijuana facility in June 2018.

CRC Executive Director Jeff Brown said prior to their vote that Harmony was recommended for approval after they committed to adding a point-of-sale system for medical patients only, to undergo expansions and to commit to patient access standards.

New Jersey marijuana regulators approved rules for “public cannabis consumption areas” on Friday, bringing the state one step closer to providing the social use option to adults and patients.

Adult-use cannabis shops opened in April, but advocates have emphasized the need to implement regulations that give people additional spaces for where they can lawfully consume.

On Friday, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) moved closer to achieving that goal by approving requirements for the consumption sites and fees for businesses that operate them.

Plans are moving forward for the first medical marijuana dispensary, which eventually could be an adult-use marijuana store, to open in the borough.

Aunt Mary's Dispensary is scheduled to appear Dec. 6 before the borough Planning Board to receive minor site plan approval to open in a 5,200-square-foot space next to Panchero's in the Shoppes at Flemington off the Flemington Circle.

Red Bank Cannabis License Applications

As of this date, the council has approved 16 resolutions "acknowledging" applications for a cannabis business license; 13 for retail operations and 3 for cultivation, or growing of the herb.

Each resolution includes the language, “… the issuance of a license to the applicant by the (New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory), Commission would not exceed any municipally-imposed limit…” (emphasis added).

That’s because Red Bank has no limit on the number of cannabis businesses that can operate in the borough.

Testimony gathered this week during three public hearings by the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission will help determine how officials will invest social equity fees raised from legal weed sales.

Advocates offered plenty of suggestions for the money, from buying baby bonds for low-income newborns and funding Black maternal health care centers to supporting reentry services for people leaving prison and creating a fund to help people harmed by the war on drugs.

Dispensaries selling cannabis at $450 per ounce; CRC hopes costs drop

With cannabis selling at $450 per ounce at dispensaries, the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) is hopeful the price will drop as more facilities open in New Jersey.

During a CRC meeting Oct. 27, Executive Director Jeff Brown said medical cannabis enrollment plateaued in May and June with lower numbers following recreational adult use sales beginning in April. He said a tremendous number of patients continue to be enrolled month over month.

The Cannabis Regulatory Commission is hoping to achieve that by using the social equity excise fees the state puts on cannabis sold by the ounce, which up to now has been based on medical sales. Starting next year, the fees will be based on sales of recreational marijuana and will be about $1.52 per ounce.

Hundreds of businesses in New Jersey are one step closer to fully operating in the cannabis industry. Last month, the Cannabis Regulatory Commission approved nearly 300 additional conditional licenses, bringing the total to date to about 800. The CRC also approved the first 18 annual licenses.

So when the opportunity to apply for a license to sell cannabis came up, he took it. But when he got word last week that he’d actually been awarded one, he had a realization: Selling marijuana – what New Jersey refers to the drug sold illegally and unlicensed — is a lot different than selling cannabis.

“I have an infrastructure I’ve been tapping into for years. That market exists,” NJWeedman.com said. “But what am I supposed to do? Stop and wait for this new industry? They’re so far behind. The state system is not ready for what I’m doing.”

Members of the Red Bank Borough Council have passed a resolution which acknowledges that an entity known as Floro RB, LLC, has proposed operating a permitted cannabis business in town.

The council’s resolution also acknowledges that Floro RB, LLC’s, proposal would not exceed the municipal limit for the number of permitted cannabis businesses.

Floro RB, LLC, is seeking a retail cannabis license to open a business in Red Bank, according to the council’s resolution.